Chateau Blac Casino

Big White Ski Resort could be getting a new look thanks to a planned 17-storey hotel and convention centre that could eventually include a casino.

Big White has sold an eight acre parcel of land—previously the Ridge Rocket parking lot—to Berezan Management, a Langley-based company that plans to build the $200-million hotel.

“What this ‘anchor property’ does is allows us to complete the resort in one structure,” said Michael Ballingall, Big White’s senior vice-president.

“When we brainstormed about what we were missing in our inventory, when you look at the hotels currently on the mountain, there is nothing that has the infrastructure to host the lawyers convention or the doctors convention, people that want to use the resort atmosphere and the great outdoors as part of business life.”

A meeting is planned for Thursday in Kelowna for the developer and the ski hill to lay out the future plans to the public. The meeting will take place from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.

Berezan Management owner Ralph Berezan, who has owned a condo at Big White for the past five years, said plans are for a 929-square-metre convention centre, with 400 hotel rooms in the proposed structure. There are also plans for a casino, he added.

“It’s a hotel and convention centre,” Berezan told the Capital News on Monday. “That’s the main purpose of the building. The casino is just hoping to pay for the bills. That might be three or four years down the road.”

If Berezan is able to secure the proper licensing for a casino, Big White could become one of the first B.C. ski resorts with a gaming room, although there are U.S. resorts that have a casino.

“The casino is just another feature,” said Ballingall. “It has to go through all the approval processes and licensing but right now it’s on the menu. We certainly support a gaming room. We think that’s a good thing if you are going to attract world class conventions.”

Ballingall said the Thursday meeting will be used to present the project to its season ticket holders and other loyal users of the hill. He said early indications from Big White skiers has been positive with the loss of the parking lot the biggest concern.

“We have been proactive in communicating with our season ticket base and people who own real estate and 95 per cent of responses to date are extremely positive,” said Ballingall. “Big White is constantly evolving. There will always be a place where the day skier can come and park right next to an access lift.”

Along with the Ridge Rocket lift, Big White is adding a new lift for this season called the Snow Ghost, a six-person lift. As far as parking Ballingall says there is room to park in the Black Forest car park, which will continue to expand, as well as the Westridge lot which has doubled in size in the past two years.

The addition of the hotel and convention centre also signals a move towards having Big White open in the summer due to the extra traffic that would come to the resort because of the convention centre.

“If this building is complete three or four years from now, you could at least get two seasons in with nature walks, fly fishing, bird watching, art galleries and cafes and pubs all open,” said Ballingall.
- G-Roy from Skyscrapercity